Our View: Exercise some restraint on bus seat belt plan

A proposal by state Sen. Tim Cullen of Janesville to equip new school buses in Wisconsin with safety belts sounds like a no-brainer. What caring parent or guardian, after all, would object to having their child in a seat belt while riding the bus?

In fact, Cullen calls it "completely outrageous" that most students ride to and from school on buses without restraints.

The problem is not necessarily the act of equipping buses, however, but enforcing the rules.

Cullen was on the Janesville School Board when that district became the only one in the state to pay for seat belts in its school buses three years ago.

The bus company owner recently told the Janesville Gazette, however, that students don't always wear their belts or keep wearing them once originally restrained. That is particularly true of high school students, the owner said.

Cullen counters that seat belt use in other vehicles is on the rise in Wisconsin and that the current generation of students, and those to come, will have learned the value of buckling up.

School bus drivers already have their hands full in keeping to a route schedule, driving safely, maintaining discipline and other concerns. They don't need monitoring of seat belt use on their plates as well.

Which leaves voluntary compliance from often antsy students.

Next week is national Child Passenger Safety Week and the issue of restraints on school buses is well worth considering as Cullen seeks legislative co-sponsors for his proposal.

The bus industry and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say bus travel is much safer that other modes of transportation.

They argue that buses ride higher than other traffic and students are protected by the highly padded, tightly spaced seats.

The NHTSA says adding seat belts will reduce the capacity on larger school buses, making it more likely families will opt for less safe modes of transportation.

Cost is always a concern in tight budget times. Eleven of Janesville's 27 large school buses are now equipped with safety belts, at a cost of $141,000 since 2010.

Cullen's bill creates a grant program that would reimburse school districts for half the cost of adding belts to new buses.

We are not opposed to adding seat belts to new school buses, even if it means paying a few extra bucks (estimated at $10,000 per bus) to make that happen. But legislating safety is a slippery slope, as Wisconsin has found out in continually trying to revamp drunken driving laws and dealing with other risky driver behaviors, such as texting behind the wheel.

It is relatively easy to pass a law; it is far more difficult to change behaviors that insure compliance with that law.

We fear that may also be the case with Cullen's school bus proposal.

Increased safety is one thing. Getting people - particularly the younger set - to buy in is another matter.

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Our View: Exercise some restraint on bus seat belt plan

A proposal by state Sen. Tim Cullen of Janesville to equip new school buses in Wisconsin with safety belts sounds like a no-brainer. What caring parent or guardian, after all, would object to having

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